Kutztown official hopes to run against Rep. Semmel over legislative pay raise

Archie Follweiler, councilman, enters the Democratic primary.

January 16, 2006|By Daryl Nerl Of The Morning Call

Democratic Kutztown Borough Councilman Archie Follweiler is seeking the state House seat held for 21 years by Rep. Paul W. Semmel, R-Lehigh and Berks.

In a news release issued Thursday on his candidacy, Follweiler opened fire on Semmel for his vote in favor of legislative pay raises of either 16 or 34 percent, a decision that was later repealed after unprecedented public outcry.

"The obvious issues in government are a lack of ethics and a need for reform," Follweiler said.

"The pay raise illegally received at 2 a.m. by our state legislator is an affront to the oath of upholding the constitution and representing the needs of the citizens. The method in which the raise was instituted and immediately collected was unethical, arrogant, and displays indifference towards the resolve of the voters."

Semmel is one of two state legislators in the Lehigh Valley to vote for the pay raise. The other, state Rep. T.J. Rooney, D-Lehigh, has announced he will not seek an eighth term.

Semmel, on the other hand, has said he will seek re-election. In 2004, he sailed unopposed through the primary and general elections. This year, he may face his first primary fight in a decade. Carl Mantz, a Republican and attorney who serves on Kutztown council with Follweiler, also is considering a run in the 187th District.

Semmel, who could not be reached for comment on Friday, has said he does not believe voters will judge him on the basis of the pay raise vote, but instead on the basis of his 20-plus-year record.

But Follweiler also is taking issue with that, describing what he called a lack of visibility and leadership on Semmel's part.

"I've been active in the Kutztown Chamber of Commerce," Follweiler said. "I've seen Paul Semmel one time in 20 years. A third of his constituents are in Berks County and he's just not here."

Follweiler is a Realtor and appraiser. An Army veteran, he lives in Kutztown with his wife, Dr. Virginia Grim, an audiologist who is a former member of Borough Council. Their daughter, Courtney, is grown and lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Last year, Follweiler, his wife, and Sam and Annemarie Yoder organized the Pennsylvania Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Festival at the Kempton Community Center.